An IC card manages a plurality of files saved in a memory by using a hierarchical structure. An IC card accesses each file in accordance with an established security status. In a conventional IC card, when a security status is established for a file in an upper layer, the established security status can be inherited to each file in a lower layer belonging to the file in the upper layer. In the conventional IC card, however, a security status established for a given file cannot be inherited to files in a layer higher than that of the given file or to files in the same layer as that of the given layer.